Life
by Sam Waterston Fan
Summary: Jack goes through some tough times as his mother is ill then tragedy strikes and he later helps a friend. Lennie/Ed detectives. Please read and review. Story is Complete
1. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN LAW & ORDER OR THE CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO DICK WOLF AND NBC.**

**This story starts with Alexandra is Jack's ADA, Lennie is still with the 27****th****. **

* * *

**September 12****th**

Jack sat at his desk with the doors closed and sighed as he settled back, unbuttoned his collar, and loosened his tie. He turned the seat towards the window and watched the rain drench New York. The rain pelting the window lulled him into a dreamy sleep.

"Listen to me young man, you need to tell us what happened that day," the judge ordered the 17 year old boy who was on the witness stand.

"Hey!! You can't talk to my son like that buster!!" the man who was the boy's father yelled from the gallery.

"I can yell at whoever I want, now sit down and shut up or I'll throw you in jail." the judge replied

"Your honor this is improper. You didn't give the witness a chance to answer," Jack defended the boy.

"I agree with Mr. McCoy, your honor. This is unfair to the witness and my client," the defense attorney argued.

"Your client is a guilty boob and I'm throwing the man in the gallery in jail, both you counselors, and the boy."

Jack and the lawyer turned to look at each other with shocked expressions at the judge's comment.

"Your honor, I am appealing your decision," the lawyer told him.

"Well, whatever, officers, arrest the father, the counselors and the witness please."

A few hours later the judge's ruling was overturned by a higher court stating the judge overstepped his bounds.

"Arthur, I want you to ask this judge to step down!" Jack yelled in his boss' office.

"Excuse me! No, I will not," Arthur stood and replied at his desk.

"Why not!! He's a moron!!" Jack yelled, and filled with anger.

"Jack, you're fired!!" he yelled back.

"What?" Jack said softly then fainted.

"Jack. Jack." Jack twitched slightly, ticking his head to the side.

Jack heard a voice calling him; he waved him off but the voice continued, then he felt two hands shaking him lightly.

"What?" Jack asked thoughtlessly thinking he was still dreaming.

"Jack, wake up," the voice said.

Jack woke up, listening to the rain still hitting the window while Arthur stood nearby waking him.

"Hi, I guess I just nodded off watching the rain," Jack smiled.

"I saw your door open, noticed the light on and went to check to see if you were still here."

"Thanks. I guess I'll start heading home now since it isn't raining so hard," Jack said after he got up and both men walked to the door.

**Sept. 16****th****—7am**

The air conditioner came on since it was a very hot morning Jack turned; over when he heard his alarm clock go off. He slammed his hand on the button to turn it off.

"Ow!! Why do I always do that?" Jack asked himself then shook his hand to rid himself of the slight pain.

**12pm—**

Jack left the office for lunch then came back to work on some more interviews with witnesses. A while later Arthur came into Jack's office and sat on the chair in front of his desk.

"Jack, I need you to take a trip to Chicago."

"What? Chicago? Why?" Jack asked stunned but he really didn't want to go.

"Because a witness needs to be talked to and you are the only one available."

"Arthur, why don't you let the second chair do it who is working in the case," Jack questioned that idea.

"Because he is busy with his case as well as his second chair and I want you to go since you are not busy with any cases," he told his right hand man.

"Okay, when does the plane leave?"

"Tonight," Arthur said then he left and Alexandra came in. She saw Jack seated in his chair when Jack gave an annoyed look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going to Chicago to talk to a witness into coming to New York to testify and I don't particularly want to go. I'll see you in a few days," Jack told her then grabbed his bag and left for home to pack.

­**In Chicago—**

Jack arrived at his boyhood home where his mother, Mary still lived. He rang the doorbell; moments later she opened the door and welcomed her son home with a big hug. Jack was happy to surprise his mom when he came home as she looked really excited when she answered the door and they both hugged. Jack hadn't been home since his father died after graduated law school; Mary was really happy to have her son home and wished he could move back to Chicago but never said anything since she wanted him to be happy.

They sat on the couch and talked then later Mary went to her room to go to bed; Jack went to his room but had a hard time sleeping. After a few minutes of walking around, he drank some milk then went back to his room and laid on the bed, reminiscing about his dad. He remembered his dad buying him a bike, letting him have sleepovers, teaching him how to drive. The memories were surprisingly pleasant, and he finally fell asleep. The next morning Mary made breakfast and they both ate.

"So, what are you going to do today, Jack?" Mary asked when she took a bite of her sausage.

"Going to meet with the witness but other than that, see if I can fix the house up a little," Jack said as he swallowed his eggs.

Mary was a short woman with short white hair, and a medium build. She was into bingo, going on cruises and generally outgoing with her friends after her husband had died. She looked like a woman who was able to do things and not worry about getting beat up as the scars from the beatings barely existed.

"So, can I borrow the car today, Mom?" Jack asked as he took the plate into the kitchen.

"Sure," she told him as he took her plate and started doing dishes.

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"What? I'm doing dishes, why?"

"I should do it since you are a guest."

"Nonsense, I should do it." But by the time Mary had finished putting the condiments in the refrigerator, he was done.

**Few hours later—**

Tony Holmgren witnessed a crime in New York when he visited and was not willing to testify in the defendant's trial a year after the crime happened. Jack rang the doorbell, Tony cracked the door ajar and saw Jack with his badge.

"I'm Jack McCoy, assistant District Attorney for Manhattan and I need to speak to you, Tony. The trial of Damien Nickolette is about to start and you told the prosecutor for the case you are not willing to testify, why is that?"

"I just can't," he said while rubbing the back of his head then put his arm at his side.

"You just can't? Let me warn you, if you don't, we can compel you to testify in front of the grand jury and the judge can cite you for contempt for failing to appear once subpoenaed."

"I don't have a lot of money to pay to go to New York and hotel and stuff," Tony told him.

"We will pay for your trip and everything else. They will also make sure you have protection if you need it."

"Let me think about it, okay?" he told Jack even though Jack had a feeling Tony was hiding something that had nothing to do with the case in New York.

"Okay," Jack gave the man the grand jury subpoena through the slight opening as Tony took it and closed the door.

Jack walked to his mom's car, taking a few steps to the sidewalk when heard a loud noise that sounded like gunshots and he ducked for cover.


	2. Visiting Mom

Moments later he stood up, saw the same car that had passed by with sparks coming out of the tailpipe, and realized it was just backfire. He breathed a sigh of relief. After he got home he called Angie, who was Rick's second chair, but got her voicemail. He rolled his eyes in frustration and left a message her to call him back on his cell phone.

"Who is Rick?" Mary asked.

"Rick Bautista is a prosecutor for the DA's office and has a second chair like I do. He is prosecuting a case where the witness who is here in Chicago and doesn't want to testify."

"Oh."

"I had an interesting incident when leaving the witness' house, Mom."

"You did?" Mary answered with in interest while Jack sat down and grabbed her lamp.

"Yeah, I ducked when I heard gunshots but when I saw the same car passing me, the same shots continued," Jack told her smilingly.

"What was it Jack?"

"Backfire," he laughed as he began to fix her lamp when his cell phone rang.

While Jack picked up the call, Mary went to get the door since the doorbell; three men asked for Jack. As she led them in, they listened in on his conversation.

"Angie, how strong is your case without Tony if you don't use him?" Jack asked.

"My case is strong without him but I've already submitted my witness list to the defense and they have submitted one to me for their witnesses. What if I took him off?"

"You could but you will have to talk to Rick first. Let him know that I warned Tony about not testifying and it could lead to a successful appeal. He seemed to back off and say okay, I just had a feeling he was hiding something and I'm not sure what. After I get off the phone I'll call a friend of mine I still talk to from high school, and see if he can help me since he is a detective for the Chicago Police department. So I'll talk to you later and if I find out anything I'll call you, bye."

After Jack hung up, he turned to see three men standing with Mary.

"Jack—"

"Wait!! Don't tell me, which one of you is a lawyer?" Jack asked while he took a guess.

"Jack, don't be rude by interrupting," Mary admonished her son as the men giggled; Jack smiled as she went to the living room to watch TV.

"I'm Tony's lawyer," the medium built African American man with a light mustache said.

"I'm Detective Lynch, and this is Detective Brees."

"I apologize for interrupting you and I had a feeling your client was hiding something but I wish he had told me that he had a lawyer. How did you find me?" Jack said then asked.

"You see, Tony is under investigation by the local D.A. and his lawyer called us since he wasn't happy about your visit but we realized that it wasn't the Chicago D.A. who paid him a visit. After we asked Tony what was on the subpoena, we called the New York D.A.'s office to speak with the assignment desk, who informed us who paid the visit and that he was staying with his mother," Detective Brees explained.

Jack rubbed his brow, walked over to a drawer that held a pad and a pen then wrote down Rick and Angie's phone numbers, so the lawyer could call them.

"Here. As you know counselor, the D.A. and lawyer for the defendant can compel your client to testify."

"I know. Thanks," the lawyer said.

Jack walked them to the door and the men left.

"Jack, what was the visit about?" Mary asked while Jack sat on the chair next to the couch.

"Apparently, the witness I spoke to who was refusing to testify in the New York case has been in trouble here and didn't tell me he had a lawyer."

"That's not good," she said.

"Nope. I'm gonna finish fixing your lamp."

"Okay Jack," she replied as he got up to go into the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later he got the lamp fixed then went to watch TV with his mom then awhile later Mary got up to do the dishes when he heard a clunk in the basement. He went to the basement as the clunking got louder and noticed the water heater was acting funny. He realized that the water heater was broken since the water was leaking from the heater to the ground which prompted him to shut it off.

"Mom, do you have the number for the water heater company? You need a new one."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed then went to the kitchen to get a card out of the small file sorter that held numbers for things that would need to be fixed.

"Yeah," she responded.

While they waited for the company to come, he walked around the house, a bit surprised that some work needed to be done that hadn't been done in years. He was more surprised how bad the back yard needed to be cleaned up, wondering why his brother didn't come to do the yard. Jack didn't feel afraid of being home since his father was dead but can still vividly remember his big hands.

An hour later the technician came out and replaced the heater then Jack paid for it even though Mary told him not to.

"Mom, it's okay," he told her.

"It's my house," Mary told her son sternly. He just smiled at her.

A while later Jack went outside to do yard work since it was messy with leaves and weeds while Mary talked to her friend on the phone. She told her friend as she watched Jack through the window, she was happy he was home but was sad that he had to do the work that she couldn't. After he got the yard cleaned up, he went to Home Depot to buy new gutters, putting it in the garage for another day since it started to get dark.

Jack sat at the table, putting the watchband together that needed to be replaced and it took him a while to get it in.

"There, gosh that was hard," he said as he blew a breath.

"Did you finally fix it?" Mary asked her son when she shouted.

"I didn't fix it Mom, it just needed new band and it's okay now."

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

A few minutes later Jack started to read the manual about the blinds he was going to put up the next day but thought he could do it. The doorbell rang, Mary went to get the door; moments later after he heard his mom say hi and out of curiosity, he turned around in his chair to see who was at the door.


	3. Brother Visits

Jack's brother Patrick, who was divorced with two kids, stood in the living room when Jack got up to welcome his brother.

"Hi Patrick, long time no see. How have things been going?"

"Good, working hard at my job. What brings you here Jack?" Patrick asked with a surprised look on his face, since it's been so long since they've seen each other in Chicago. They gave each other a hand shake then put their arm around their backs to give a pat on the back.

"I had to talk to a witness about a case for one of my co workers," Jack said when he and Patrick sat on the couch and Mary sat on the love seat.

"Ah, he works too hard Mom."

"That's true he does," Mary replied with a smile.

"You should talk him into moving back here," Patrick said sarcastically.

Awhile later the brothers took a walk around the neighborhood; they see it hadn't changed since Jack moved.

"How are Michael and Patricia doing?" Jack asked.

"They are doing good. Michael told us he wants to be a police officer, and Patricia wants to be a lawyer," Patrick said.

"Hey, that's great!" Jack said with a big grin on his face.

"Yeah."

"Remember Josephine who used to live a few houses down?" Patrick asked with a sly smile.

"Yes, and we fought over her till she moved away," Jack alleged.

"Yeah that's her. She has moved back to Chicago a year ago and I've been dating her."

"Oh ho ho! And that's what you always wanted wasn't it?" Jack shot back.

"Yeah," Patrick said with a grin.

Two hours later Patrick said goodbye to Jack and his mom then went home; Jack finished reading the manual for the blinds then he and Mary had dinner. Thirty minutes after Mary went to bed in her room, Jack went to sleep in his old room even though the bed wasn't very comfy. Time passed quickly and a short few days later Jack gave his mom a big hug goodbye since he had to go back to New York.

"Thank you for letting me stay home and you take good care of yourself."

"I will and come home anytime you want. I love you very much."

"I love you too, Mom."

Jack was glad to be back home since he missed riding his motorcycle and sleeping in his own bed. After his shopping trip he crawled out on his warm, soft bed, very happy for the inventor of the king size mattress. As he nodded off, he thought about how nice it was to see his mom and Patrick, even if it was good to be home.

**September 26****th****—**

Ed was working at his desk when Van Buren came in. Out of the corner of her vision she noticed Lennie wasn't at his desk but figured he was stuck in traffic, so she entered her office and started her day. Ed blew out his breath when Anita walked by. He didn't like to have to cover for Lennie but deep down he hoped he would get to work soon.

Ed got a weird feeling in his stomach about the situation, but he just couldn't identify why. Minutes later Ed turned towards the door when he heard someone enter, hoping it was Lennie coming in but it was just a uniformed officer. His worrying was broken when Anita called him to her office. He walked in and closed the door.

"Yeah?" Ed asked as he sat down.

"Here are the LUDs for the calls to the home where the murder occurred," Anita said with her glasses in her hand. She watched Ed look through the numbers as she sat at her desk.

"Lots of numbers, wow," he said while flipping through the pages.

"Hey, you don't happen to know where Lennie is, do you?" Anita asked.

"No, I don't."

After Ed got up, he walked out to his desk, and began working on the phone numbers to see what number belonged to who.

Three hours later Lennie still hadn't come in. Ed was starting to wonder where his partner was, so he gave him a call at home and his cell phone but no answer. A while later the phone rang; he picked it up and it was an officer on the other end.

"Ed, you need to come to the apartment complex since your partner is in trouble. He doesn't want the ambulance to take him to the hospital, but he needs to go."

"Okay, I'll be right there," Ed said then hung up and dashed out the office to where his partner was.

**At the courtroom—**

Jack was prosecuting an accused murderer when the defense called a witness to the stand. The lawyer stood up and questioned her.

"So, where were you the night the victim was killed?" the lawyer asked as he walked towards the witness.

"None of your business," the witness answered in a harsh voice.

"You refused to give the police your alibi, why?" he asked.

"Cause it's none of anyone's business where I was," she answered annoyed.

"You were a friend of the victim, right?"

"Yes," she said.

"Then why don't you tell the jury, where you were to help your friend?"

The witness sighed, looked down momentarily then looked up.

"Fine, I was with Lennie Briscoe," she said irritably, then a few people gasped.

"Where did you and Lennie go?"

"We went out to dinner then to his apartment," she told the court.

"Thank you," the lawyer responded while he sat down, and Jack stood up.

"So, you were with Detective Lennie Briscoe on the night the victim was murdered, December 22nd?" Jack asked distrustfully.

"Yes! Are you deaf?" she shouted with irritation.

"What did you guys do that night at his apartment?" Jack asked while he stood near the witness stand.

"We watched TV, drank, and then slept in the same bed," The gallery gasped. The judge banged on his gavel asking for order.

"I see, are you sure it wasn't another day? Like the 2nd or the 12th?"

"Yes, I'm positive it was the night of the 22nd," she said.

"Your honor I ask for a lunch recess since it's almost noon," Jack asked for court to be adjourned.

During the lunch hour, Jack got a copy transcript of a hearing concerning Detective Briscoe. He made a copy for him and the defense then court resumed from lunch.

Jack continued his cross examination of the witness.

"So, before we went to lunch you testified you spent time with Detective Briscoe, right?"

"Yes."

"Did you meet Julia and her kids?" Jack asked.

"No, who are they?" the witness asked nervously.

"Your Honor, I ask to enter into evidence as People's 10. A transcript of testimony made by Detective Briscoe to this court on December 4th." Jack said as he picked up the transcript.

"So marked," replied the judge.

Jack continued, "Read the highlighted portion on page 4."

"Prosecutor McCoy: Detective Briscoe asks to testify on the 21st instead of 22nd due to plane arrangement to go to Florida for Christmas. Defense attorney Johnson: Your honor, the defense has no objections. Judge Steinman: The request is granted," the witness read the transcript and looked embarrassed.

"How long have you and Detective Briscoe been dating?"

"Four months," she said.

"So, did he even tell you about his trip to Florida for Christmas?"

"No," she said timidly.

"I see. Would you like to recant your testimony about being with Lennie that night?" Jack asked since he had discredited her.

"Yes, I do.

**In Jack's office a few hours later—**

Jack was working on his summation when he picked up the ringing phone.

Jack felt very scared as he dashed out of his office; assistants looked at him with confusion as the elevator doors closed.

"I wonder if Branch knows what he did and that's why he's running?" a few of the workers who saw him running thought to themselves.


	4. Stroke

**September 26****th**** 10pm—**

When Jack arrived at the airport, his friend Mark, who was an off duty police officer, met him at the baggage claim. Since Mark was still friends with Jack, he knew what happened to Mary since he happened to be visiting her at the time. Mark dropped him off at the hospital, watching Jack walk in with bag in tow. The receptionist led him to where her room was. As they opened the door, Jack could see her resting with the lights dimmed, the heart monitor hooked up, and oxygen flowing through the nose tube. Patrick was on the folding couch at the foot of the bed, fast asleep.

"Let me get you a folding couch and I'll be back," the nurse softly told him.

Jack parked his bag near the chair, walked up to her, held her hand and leaned towards her ear.

"Mom, I don't know if you can hear me but I'm here," he squeezed her hand slightly and felt her light grip, which made him smile.

After the folding couch was brought in, Jack brushed his teeth in the bathroom then laid on the folding couch and fell asleep.

**September 27****th****—7:30am—**

Jack turned over, squinted as he saw the bottom of the bed, turned over again, feeling the light come through the room as the drapes were being opened. He saw a woman opening the drapes, and turned to see the cot near him was empty; he got up while he stretched and yawned.

"Hello, time to get up," the nurse told him.

"Okay," he said with a smile then she left. "So much for sleeping in, gosh."

While he put the couch and blankets up, he heard, "Don't talk to yourself, Jack,"

He looked up towards the bed and saw Mary was awake.

"Mom, how are you?" He walked over to her then kissed her forehead.

"I'm fine. The doctor said I had a mild stroke and I can go home in a few days." The doctor walked in followed by Patrick.

"Hi Jack."

"Hi Patrick. Doctor." Jack said as he and the doctor shook hands.

"Hi. I'm Lennie Davidson, Your mom had a mild stroke and is on on blood thinning medication. I will be releasing her on Saturday," Patrick stood opposite of Jack.

"I'm glad she will be okay," Patrick said while the doctor left as they stood near the door.

"Well, how long can you stay?" Patrick asked.

"At least a week."

"Okay. Let's set up a home nurse for a few months and rehab as well," Patrick suggested.

"Mom, we are going to go and make arrangements for a home nurse as well rehab services for your rehabilitation. We'll be back."

They had made arrangements for a home nurse to be with her while she recovered and her rehabilitation would begin a few weeks after Jack went back home.

Jack went back to his boyhood home to put his suitcase away, and take a shower. Since he borrowed a key, he found another key, checked to make sure it worked in the lock and made a duplicate for himself

**Back in New York 9am—**

Alexandra spoke to the court out of the presence of the jury.

"Your honor, Mr. McCoy is not available to complete this trial. I will be taking over as prosecutor of record."

The defense attorney gave his summation, Alexandra followed; the jury was given the case for deliberation. Alex went back to the DA's office to do some work on another case when Arthur came to her office.

"Hey, how did things go?" he asked as he leaned on the doorframe with his foot crossed over his ankle.

"Good," she said.

"Listen, when Jack comes back I'm going to give him a lesser case load since I'm sure he will want to visit his mom more often."

"Okay, I would be willing to have some cases of my own," Alexandra said then Arthur went back to his office.

**October 7****th**** 5pm—**

Jack got home to New York, turned on the light, set his keys on the table while he turned on the TV as he sighed. He thought about how to tell Arthur that he wanted to have less of a work load so he could go home once a month or every other month as he took his bag to his room and unpacked. He noticed no messages on his answering machine.

"I hope Arthur is okay, I would have thought he'd at least leave a message, oh well," Jack thought to himself.

A few minutes later, Jack rummaged through his refrigerator to see what needed to be tossed, and made a list of what he needed to buy while he heard Arthur talking on the TV with Alexandra and a few associate DA's behind him. After he finished making the list, he closed the refrigerator then walked over to the couch and sat down to watch the announcement then changed the channel

"I guess Arthur is okay."

**October 8****th ****2am—**

Ed arrived at the crime scene and looked around to see no Lennie but began his investigation anyway. After a while he noticed Lennie was still not around, and he began to wonder again.

"Damn, where is he?" he thought to himself as he flashed back to a few weeks ago, when Lennie was MIA.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Ed said, then hung up and left.

Ed arrived at the scene when he noticed Lennie sitting on the step of an ambulance which had the doors open with a woman next to him.

"Lennie, what happened? I thought you were talking to a witness in a case, Van Buren ain't gonna like to hear you goofing off on the job!"

"Hey detective, he needs to go to the hospital, even though he says he's fine," the paramedic said.

"Aw Ed, I'm fine, just really tired with a scratchy throat and my eyes are just itchy and watery."

"Let's go Lennie, I'll take you," Ed said while he physically escorted his partner to his car then drove him to the hospital.

"Ed. Ed."


	5. Back home again

"Lennie, you're here," Ed said with a smile as he looked up.

"Yeah, after I left the apartment, I had to turn back to lock the door so that's why I'm late."

"Oh, okay."

"Don't worry Ed. I've learned my lesson from a few weeks ago when there was that funky smell, when I was goofing off instead of interviewing a witness."

"That's good, I'm glad you learned your lesson," Ed said then they walked over to a body of a man.

"So whadda we got?" Lennie asked.

**October 10****th**** 7:30 Jack's office—**

Jack was seated at his desk when he picked up the buzzing phone, then hung up moments later. He got up, walked to the door leading out of his office into Arthur's and noticed Arthur getting up from his chair.

"Hi Arthur. You wanted to see me?" Jack asked as he stood a few feet from Arthur and the desk.

They exchanged pleasantries then sat down; Arthur found out that Mary would be okay and he folded his fingers.

"I'm going to assign you lesser cases so you can visit your mom when you want and Alexandra will continue to help you with those cases as well as having her own.

"Thanks, I was hoping to visit her once a month to see if I can help or fix up the house some more, but I worry, the stroke will occur again and she won't make it before I get there."

"I remember the first time my mom became ill ten years ago, my boss gave me time off to be with her and I was very glad that he did. Since my dad had passed on, my siblings were there when she had a mild heart attack; and we helped her change the way she lived her life. Once everyone got back to their routine, she went back to hers as to not eating healthy, then about a year after her first attack I remember I tried calling her and she didn't answer. I called again then called my brother--."

"I'm sorry Arthur," Jack said somberly.

"My boss gave me as much time as I needed. And I do miss her and I'm glad your mom is getting better, also I understand you want to see her more," Arthur said as Jack got up.

"Thank you for giving me some time to be with my Mom," Jack said as he walked to the door.

"Oh and Jack, if your mom falls ill when you are in court, I will have my limo driver give you a ride to the airport."

"Thank you, Arthur," Jack said as he walked out closing the door behind him and walked into his office. Alexandra walked in, welcomed him back; they talked about his mom then began on a case.

Even though Jack went to visit Mary for the next few months, her health improved and he slightly diminished his visits by going every two months. He continued to take on easy loads of cases then Arthur gave him a murder case he and Alexandra prosecuted.

"So we know who killed Jesse and Tricia Page, it was the defendant, Harvey Brady since he broke into the victim's home during the course of a robbery. A crime technician will testify that the skin from the female victim was found under the defendants fingernails as well as blood that was on the defendant's clothes after he killed the homeowners," Jack stated in his opening statement.

After the defense gave their opening statement, witnesses were called pushing the trial forward while the defense was given their chance to explain the evidence.

"So, do you know how the victim's blood got on the defendant's clothes?" Mr. Rothenburg, the attorney asked the technician.

"No, I don't."

"So, since there wasn't much blood on the defendant, the victim could have had a nosebleed and sneezed on the defendant's clothes since it couldn't come off, right?" he asked then Jack stood up.

"Objection, speculation," Jack said. The judge sustained the objection; Jack sat down.

**At Jack's office—**

"So tomorrow we talk about the knife that was used in the killing and that was later recovered in a dumpster. Jewelry, VCR, DVDs belonging to the victims were recovered from the defendant when he was arrested at his home."

"Yeah," Alex said as they looked over the statements for witnesses who would testify.

**At the courtroom the next day--**

The lawyer asked a few more questions then rested his case; The judge gave the case to the jury a few days later. After a few days of deliberation, the jury came back with a guilty verdict on both counts.

Weeks later they got a high profile murder case of an entire family that happened three months ago and the lawyer asked for a speedy trial.

**March 14 at the courtroom—**

A few days after the opening summations, the trial was beginning for the day. Jack and Alexandra sat down, he turned towards her as they both leaned so he can whisper to her.

"I gotta bad feeling about something, I think it's my mom since I've been thinking about her and it doesn't feel right," everyone in the courtroom stood as the judge walked in, he sat down and everyone sat down.

Jack asked the witness questions followed by the defense attorney; moments later the witness was excused then Jack got a note from Arthur's secretary He opened the note, leaned forward with his elbows on the table reading its every word in complete silence while everyone looked on. Alexandra slightly nudged him to let him know the next witness was needing to be called, but he didn't answer and the judge got involved.

"Counselor, you may call your next witness."

Moments later Alexandra stood to ask for a recess; the defense attorney looked over at Jack and Alex, stated he had no objections to a ten minute recess. The judge approved the recess.

The courtroom emptied except for Jack, Alex, the defense attorney; Alex leaned on Jack as the attorney who knew about his mom stood nearby.

"I think I will have to recuse myself, my mom has fallen gravely ill," Jack said, holding back sobs.

"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry," Alex and the attorney said.

Ten minutes later, the court resumed and the judge asked if Jack was ready for his next witness.

Jack stood, "I do have my witness your honor, but due to a family emergency, I need to recuse myself and let my second chair take over."

Then everyone gasped.

"Your honor, the defense understands and doesn't mind Miss Borgia taking over."

After Jack got out of the courthouse, he noticed Arthur's driver walking towards him then they went into the limo heading for the airport. Jack's bag was already inside since he had it in his office just in case. Jack made a quick call to the hospital where his mother was to let the family know he was on his way. Jack had no idea what kind of condition his mother was in other than on she was on life support; he had an advanced directive stating he wanted the hospital to wait until after he got there so he could say goodbye if his mother wasn't going to make it. Mary had decided, and the family agreed, that Jack should execute the advanced directive. He was, after all, the oldest and a lawyer. Jack rubbed his chin as he realized the weight of making this decision, and hoping it was what his mother wanted, as he made his way to his boyhood home, for maybe one last time.


	6. Death

**March 14****th**** 6pm at the hospital in Chicago-**

Jack finally arrived at the hospital where he was led to the room she was in. He paused for a moment outside the door before entering. He could see his family there through the window consoling each other – his daughter had also made the trip from New York, arriving before him; Patrick was there with his ex-wife and kids. Jack's heart sank as he looked at his once vibrant mother. She had a breathing tube in her mouth, hissing with each pump of the machine. The heart monitor beeped a constant 72 beats a minute, ticking away a countdown in Jack's brain. Jack took little notice when the paging system called for a doctor to go to Mary's room. He walked in, stepped aside away from the door, placed his bag down, and hesitantly hugged his daughter and brother.

A few minutes later after they all said their tearful goodbyes, the doctor turned off the machine. The machine stopped pumping air into her lungs and the heart monitor started beeping rapidly until it flat lined. The doctor pronounced her dead; everyone cried while he left the family alone to mourn in peace.

**At Mary's home the next day—**

Jack's daughter, Rebecca, Jack, and Patricia sat on one side of the table, while Patrick sat across from Jack, Michael sat across from Patricia and the lawyer sat across from Rebecca for the reading of the will.

"So, Grandma is now with Grandpa," Michael said somberly.

"Yeah, that damn bastard," Patrick said with bitterness while everyone looked at him shocked.

Jack kicked him slightly as Patrick winced in pain while he rubbed his leg.

"Why did you say that Dad?" Patricia asked.

"Because your father didn't get along with our Dad, that's all."

Jack looked at him with a slight frown while everyone looked at Patrick.

"Oh, okay," Michael said confused.

"Yeah, just like I can't stand my dad," Rebecca replied.

Jack looked at her slightly shocked but did think she didn't like him.

"Alright, now that's enough. Do you want to hear what you are getting or not?" the lawyer asked with irritation at the disrespect for the living and dead.

Everyone listened to what they were getting, then days later they held a garage sale for things they didn't want or need. After everything was taken care of, they went their separate ways.

**April 7th****th****—**

After Mary's home was sold, Jack went back to New York and he was glad to be home. With a glass of scotch in his hand, he sat on the couch thinking about both his parents being gone, and if he'd ever go back to Chicago.

_Dad has been gone since after I graduated from college, the wonderful mother who protected me and Patrick from Dad's big hands and violent temper is now gone. I feel Mom is at peace and now I feel at peace. I'm not afraid of those big hands anymore but I don't think there is any reason for me to visit Chicago._

When Jack went back to work, those who knew about his mom gave their condolences, then later that day in his office Alex walked in since she saw him through the window.

"Jack? How are you? I'm sorry about your mom," she told him while he looked up from reading the papers.

"I'm good. Thanks, my mom had a long and wonderful life. What's up?" He asked her as he noticed she had a look of worry.

She looked at him with a long pause then spoke, "Its okay Jack. Um, let me handle it but I'll let you know if I need you."

"Okay," he told her as she walked away.

Alexandra was having a problem with a detective from the 27th precinct but wanted to see if she could handle it.

**April ****22 in Jack's office—**

Jack and Alexandra were working on a case when they started talking about one of the detectives who was testifying tomorrow.

"Jack, remember a few weeks ago, I told you that there was something I needed to see if I can take care of, when you asked if something was wrong?"

"Yes," Jack responded as he saw the worry on Alexandra's face.

"Well, I'm having a problem with one of the detectives still, Lennie Briscoe."

"You are? What kind of problem?" Jack sat up with a confused look.

"Lennie is being a real jerk and he seems angry. He lashed out at me and told me that it was your fault. What is he talking about?"

Jack rubbed his brow as he sat back with his hands folded behind his head.

"I don't know Alex. How long has he been acting like this?" Jack asked perplexed.

"The last couple of weeks Has he ever acted angry in court in the past? Please talk with him."

"I have prosecuted cases with him as a witness, he has never lashed out or anything. Maybe he was just having a few bad weeks."

"I don't know Jack, but I want to have nothing to do with him. He ruined my date Jack!!"

Jack started but was cut off. "Awwww—".

"This is not funny Jack!! You need to talk to him."

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to him," Jack said as he sat up to pick up the phone.

"He's testifying tomorrow, Jack. I am afraid he will ruin my case."

Alex told him then left, slamming the door behind her.

**March 23—**

Jack walked in and sat in the gallery while Lennie testified.

"Was there any relationship between the woman and the killer?" she asked.

"No," Lennie said agitated while Jack looked on.

"What else did you find out?"

"That the victim didn't need to die!!" He screamed as Jack looked at him bewildered.

"Of course not, that's why we have a trail," she said with a mystified look on her face and looked towards the gallery as she saw Jack.

"That's right! You tell Jack that he's an idiot and a bastard!!" Lennie yelled again while the judge banged her gavel.

"Order!!" she stopped banging her gavel; the gallery quieted down. The lawyer stood up.

The lawyer complained, "Your honor, I ask for a mistrial."

"Your honor, I ask that you instruct the jury to disregard the witness' last exchange," Alex responded.

"I'll do you one better, I will order the jury to disregard the detective's testimony!"

Lennie looked at the judge then towards the gallery, realizing he made a mistake.

Alex looked back at Jack angrily, while Jack looked at Lennie with his eyebrows raised.

Before Lennie testified, Jack asked Lieutenant Van Buren if he could talk to Lennie at a pizza place. She told Lennie that Cordova would go with Ed to crime scenes and he should go to see Jack. That evening, Lennie was not very happy as he went to the pizza place where he saw Jack at a booth and walked towards him.

"Hey Lennie."

"Hi. Jack. I'm sorry about your mom," Lennie replied.

"Thanks," Jack said as the server gave them water then asked if they were ready to order, which they were, and ordered a pizza and some soda.

"I do think about my mom and Cathy."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about my Mom lately," Jack said then continued, "So what is going on with you lately?"

"Nothing," Lennie responded as the server put the food on the table then walked away.

"Lennie. You lashed out in court, yelling at my assistant," Jack said as Lennie took a bite of his pizza then took a sip.

"It's your fault that he's out and he should have gotten life," Lennie told him tersely as Jack took a bite of his pizza,

"I understand you are angry at me for something but, Alex doesn't deserve the resentment you have given her. What did she do to deserve the hostility you have given her?

"She's working with you stupid," Lennie looked at him then said,

"You know better than that. I would like you to apologize to her for your rudeness and tell me why you are so upset. If not me, then Ed or Lt. Van Buren."

Lennie sighed as he took a sip while Jack took a bite of his pizza.

Lennie began, "Well, Jack you see….."


	7. Lennie Talks

A few days later Next day at the 27—

**The next day at the 27—**

Lennie calmed down after talking to Jack; however, he didn't get any more harassing calls since the night before they both talked. Ed couldn't figure out what was bothering his partner. He even tried to talk to him a few days ago, but Lennie refused to talk and blamed Jack. Ed picked up the ringing phone then left a few minutes later while Lennie was out of the office.

Jack finished his food when Ed came in and sat before him.

"Ed, did you find out who has been harassing Lennie?"

"No, came up as a payphone number, but I got CSU checking for fingerprints."

"Okay. But I don't think there will be any usable fingerprints or DNA," Jack replied.

"I hope we find out who is harassing Lennie because I am worried the department might crack down on him since he has already seen the Chief of D's ," Ed replied worriedly.

"Well, I am going to check something out after I talk to a lawyer and his client."

"You know, I did notice he had been picking up the phone and slamming it. Even though he hasn't done it today or part of yesterday, but I never really thought about why. Thanks Jack."

"No problem," Jack said while Ed left.

Jack went to look up the cases where he had made a deal for 6-12 years and with Lennie as the detective. There were many cases where he had made such a deal for 6-12 but most of the defendants were either still in prison for committing another crime or dead; but one guy was out and still out, or so Jack thought.

"Aha! That's gotta be it. That bastard!" Jack slammed his fist on the table as he said.

Later that day, Jack went to the 27th Precinct to see the detectives and when he walked in, Lennie looked up and looked happy.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" Lennie asked with a smile.

"Lennie!" Ed snapped not realizing Jack was behind him until he stood at the side of the desk.

"Ed, have you gotten the results from the payphone?"

"No, just a lot of smudges, so the handle and numbers were wiped down."

"Well, I figured it out!" Just as he spoke, Anita came over to the desk.

"Jack, what a surprise? How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm fine. How are you, Lieutenant?"

"I'm fine,"

"Jack, Lennie, Ed. I just found out that uh... Bobby Sabo was thrown off a rooftop and found late yesterday in an alleyway."

"Well, I guess we don't need to bring him in for questioning," Jack said while Lennie grinned from ear to ear.

"Bobby Sabo was out? How long?" Ed asked surprised.

"Well, he was out for a few weeks and really must have pissed someone off cause he's dead," she said then walked back to her office. Just as Jack turned, he noticed a big grin on Lennie's face, then paused for a second, then left for the DA's office.

**Few hours later—**

"Jack, Lennie called to apologize to me," Alex told him as she sat on the chair in front of him.

"That's good. I'm sorry you had to get the brunt of that and I'm sure things will be better."

"I heard that a guy that Briscoe had arrested was killed yesterday afternoon. I talked to the officers in the Sabo killing case and they don't know who killed him."

"They are investigating and Alex, Lennie is not a revenge happy cop so get that out of your head," Jack said with an authoritative tone.

"Well, I am still out of a boyfriend; he still won't talk to me, Jack!!"

**Later that night—**

Jack was at home watching TV when the phone rang, he got up to pick it up then sat back down.

"Hello. Hey Lennie, how are you?"

"Fine, how are you?" Lennie responded while he sat in his chair, also watching TV.

"I'm good, just watching the news about Bobby Sabo; I guess he was the one harassing you."

Lennie told him, "Yeah. I'm sorry I got so angry at you and Alex; I called her to apologize. I just feel like that woman who was killed didn't deserve to die and he just was a criminal and should have gotten the needle. I guess justice was served by that punk's death.

"Don't worry about it, I don't blame you. You know Abbie despised the idea of making that deal and really went to bat for you and Ed. We all know that SOB deserves to go to hell and he probably is there now."

"True, well I'll talk to you later."

"Hey Lennie, if you can't talk to anyone and you are having issues, don't hesitate to call me," Jack told him.

"I will pal. Thanks, bye."

"Bye," Jack said then hung up.

A Few hours later, after Jack had gone to bed, he dreamt about Mary.

"Momma!! Momma!!" 7- year old Jack ran inside crying into Mary's arms.

"What's wrong honey?" She asked him while she sat in the chair and faced her with tears in his eyes.

"I fell and scraped my knee."

Mary saw the scrape, put hydrogen peroxide on it then a band aid and kissed his knee.

"Thank you Mommy."

"You are welcome sweetie," she gave him a kiss on the forehead then let him run back outside as she smiled.

Jack woke up, turned to his side, and saw the alarm clock on the night stand. A tear ran down his face as he put his arm under his pillow. He tried to drop back into sleep, and despite the struggle, he finally did.


End file.
